If I could have only one watch for the rest of my life, it would be a Rolex Submariner or Omega Seamaster. This is the next best, reasonably priced thing. Transitions perfectly from an afternoon on a yacht, to a meeting in the office.

“Style is very personal. It has nothing to do with fashion. Fashion is over quickly. Style is forever.” – Ralph Lauren

There is no one else on the planet who has the same style as you; they may be similar, you may have the same taste in clothing, and you may have the same style icons, but what you do with all that is completely unique.

You could walk in to a store and buy the latest outfit straight off of the runway, and be fashionable, but being stylish means making that outfit your own; in means being comfortable and confident in your sense of self, it means knowing who you are, and having your clothes reflect that.

“…You can have no money and have great style. You can have a lot of money and have great style. More often, you have a lot of money and you have terrible style; and you just plaster yourself in what you think you are supposed to be wearing and you’ve lost yourself. I actually hate to see my designs worn head to toe the way I show them on a runway… Style, for me, is someone who figures out who they are, what works on them, what they feel good in, and develops that, develops their character, and the outer expression of their character is what is style…”– Tom Ford

So the temperature can reach about 40ºC (107ºF) in the Summer on the Sunshine Coast, and for those of us without an air conditioner, the temptation to throw on a pair of shorts and a sleeveless shirt is quite powerful. Unfortunately, that’s not an outfit that you can leave the house in (unless you’re going to the beach); so the question is: How do you look good, and still avoid heat stroke?

Lightweight Fabrics

This is pretty obvious. The lighter and thinner the fabric, the easier it will be for air to circulate; and the more air that flows, the cooler you will be.

When looking for summer clothing, try them on first so that you will be able to actually tell the weight of the fabric before buying.

Synthetics Are The Enemy

Unless it’s specifically designed for activewear, synthetics like polyester and rayon are generally no good in summer clothing. The plastic-like fibers will trap sweat beneath the clothing, making you hot, and humid. Instead, stick with natural fibers like cotton, silk, and linen; they act as a wick for sweat, sucking it from your body and allowing it to evaporate, which is what cools you.

A while back I was taking up the sleeves on a new jacket, and thought to myself “maybe I could put one of my pay pass tags in the sleeve of this jacket; wouldn’t that be cool?”. I decided that I couldn’t be bothered, but it still thought it was a neat idea; to be able to pay for something with just a swipe of your cuff, you would never be without money in an emergency again (assuming you don’t lose your jacket). A curious google search that night revealed that I wasn’t the first to have the idea, but only one company had actually put it into practice: MJ Bale. I don’t usually have much to say about the Australian menswear industry, but it makes me glad to see an Aussie company at the forefront of such innovative technology.

Certainly, being able to pay for things with your suit jacket is a bit of a novelty, with new mobile phones already having the ability anyway, and it is just one more thing that can be stolen (though that can be helped by simply not taking off your jacket), but the idea of combining technology and style (my two greatest passions) in a functional and useful way is certainly something that I approve of. Also, it would look pretty cool, paying for something with wave of your arm.